Scottish Executive

Conservation

Mr John Home Robertson (East Lothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals it has to improve the nature conservation system.

Mr Sam Galbraith: Our programme for government, Working together for Scotland , committed the Scottish Executive to improve the system of nature conservation to work with local communities to achieve effective protection for nature.

  I am today publishing The Nature of Scotland: A Policy Statement, which sets out our proposals to achieve this. It proposes important reforms to the way in which we work with people to protect Scotland’s most special places for nature. It also proposes important changes to the way we protect nature, and deter wildlife crime, throughout Scotland.

  I am consulting widely on these proposals, and have set up a working group involving the key stakeholders to consider their further development.

  I have placed copies of The Nature of Scotland in the Scottish Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Enterprise

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made on the national guidelines for Local Economic Forums.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The national guidelines on Local Economic Forums have been published today on the Scottish Executive website. The guidelines have been issued following consultation with a wide range of interests. The Local Economic Forums are the main response to the ELL Committee inquiry into local economic development and I expect them to create a simpler, more cohesive structure for local economic development in Scotland.

  Copies of the national guidelines have been lodged with the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Government Services

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the announcement by the Office of the e-Envoy on 16 January 2001 that more than 40% of UK government services are now available online, how many of its services are currently available over the internet.

Angus MacKay: Current evidence suggests that, on the basis of the progress measures defined by the Office of the e-Envoy for its Electronic Service Delivery Progress Report, more than 25% of services provided by the Scottish Executive and its agencies are available online, thus meeting the target of 25% to be online by 2002. However, we do not believe that "services" and "online" in this context have universally understood definitions within the public sector in Scotland. Since the announcement of the target of 100% of government services to be available electronically by 2005 in March 2000, we have been considering how to ensure that our 21st Century Government Agenda is about improving services to the public and about increasing choice in the way services are delivered. The option to access services electronically can and should include a variety of delivery channels, including digital tv, call centres and the internet. We are revising the collection of statistics to reflect this and will be able to provide fuller information in due course.

Legal Aid

Scott Barrie (Dunfermline West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to clarify the repayment arrangements under section 17 of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986.

Mr Jim Wallace: An issue has been identified by the Scottish Legal Aid Board regarding its powers under the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986 to aggregate expenditure on certain kinds of legal aid case. This is a very technical matter but between 1991 and 1999, the board deducted too much money from the awards of people who had been supported by civil legal aid. This money will now be refunded. The board will be placing adverts in the press for those people who may have been affected by this issue to contact their own solicitor. They will issue guidance to the legal profession on how to handle claims. The Law Society will also be writing to the profession giving guidance.

Mental Illness

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what sanctions can be imposed on NHS Trusts or local authorities if clear evidence is found of deficiencies in the care and treatment of people with mental illness.

Malcolm Chisholm: Mental health is one of three clinical priorities for the NHS in Scotland and resources are being allocated to reflect this. The Scottish Executive Health Department works with the NHS, local authorities, inspection and support groups to ensure that appropriate standards of care and treatment are provided for people with mental illness. Where deficiencies are found, the first priority is to ensure that action is taken to meet the needs of patients without delay.

NHS Trusts

Euan Robson (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether NHS Trusts are not permitted to sell services such as laundering at less than cost or on a loss leading basis and what specific instructions exist to that effect.

Susan Deacon: Guidance on income generation published by the NHS Management Executive in 1989 states that in developing income generation opportunities NHS organisations should ensure they act in a commercial manner and charge on an appropriate commercial basis. Their expected costs are relevant only in assessing the minimum combination of price and volume which is profitable.

Organ Retention

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what guarantee it can give that no children’s organs are now being retained at any Scottish hospital.

Susan Deacon: The position in Scotland regarding retention of organs following post-mortem examination is set out in detail in the Report of the independent Review Group on the Retention of Organs at Post-Mortem , published on 6 February 2001.

  The Executive is seeking urgent changes to the law to make it clear that parents’ consent must be sought to the retention of children’s organs at post-mortem, and to make it an offence to retain organs without such consent.

Organ Transplants

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7161 by Susan Deacon on 3 July 2000, how many heart transplant patients at Glasgow Royal Infirmary have been referred to another hospital outwith Glasgow for rescheduled post-operative appointments.

Susan Deacon: None.

Transport

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much income workplace parking levies are likely to generate.

Sarah Boyack: Workplace parking levies are not included as an option for local authorities in the Transport Act and there is therefore no possibility of them being developed in Scotland.

Transport

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much income congestion charging is likely to generate.

Sarah Boyack: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-10408; the point applies equally to congestion charging.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Scots Language

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer why a Scots language version of the Scottish Parliament website has not been made available.

Sir David Steel: The Scottish Parliament’s website publishes information in English in line with Standing Orders, Rule 7.1 which states, "The Parliament shall normally conduct its business in English…".

  There are no plans to create a full version of the website in any other language, though summary information is presented in Gaelic, and public information resources in several other languages will be available on the website in the near future.